I want the donut shaped like a poop emoji Who: Ro, Mikey, Ronnie What: A conversation and a line in the sand When: October 29th Where: Ronnie’s trailer Rating: Mid - swears and references to violence Status: Complete
I have a wish
Unlike last time, when she stepped up to the door to Ronnie’s house, Ro didn’t let herself in. She hadn’t seen Ronnie since the night at Terrible’s with Noah and considering what she now knew about him, she wasn’t sure he would be cool with her just walking in. She wasn’t entirely sure what her main goal was in coming here: apologize for Noah even though she’d known nothing about what had happened between him and Ronnie at the time? Apologize for herself in general? Make sure Ronnie didn’t hate her? Ro was unsure and not feeling especially confident. She’d brought a peace offering though, tucking a box of Pinkbox Donuts under her arm. Not only did they look delicious but the name was the color of the box as well as a bit of a dirty joke that Ro appreciated.
At least if Ronnie didn’t want to talk to her, she’d still have donuts. She knocked on the screen and waited.
Ronnie was in the back bedroom looking for something when the knock came. He’d been humming to himself. A pillow would be lifted up as if the thing he was looking for would be there beneath it, though to his disappointment it was not. How you misplaced a sock, he wasn’t sure. It was his favorite pair, though, and the left one had wandered off somewhere.
Tossing the pillow back down, he turned and padded barefoot toward the hallway and then to the door.
There wasn’t mistaking that outline and he found himself smiling in spite of himself, “Hey Ro. Door is open, come in.” He opened it for her anyway, motioning her inside. As much caution as he wanted, she was a friend and it was hard to just let that go.
Mikey was less inclined to be charitable -- he’d been brushing his teeth at the knock on the door, and when he leaned his head out of the bathroom and saw who it was -- and that Ronnie was just letting her in -- he spat in the sink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before stalking over to the kitchen side window to look out, ensuring she’d come alone.
Once he’d established that, he leaned against the counter, his arms crossed, his expression tight.
Ro slipped around Ronnie, careful not to touch him, and stepped inside. She smiled at Ronnie and then looked over at Mikey. He didn’t seem thrilled with her. “I brought donuts. From Pinkbox. Best shop name ever, by the way,” she announced, holding up the box like a peace offering.
She nodded at Mikey, watching to see if his expression might lighten with a sugary bribe. “How you doing, big blonde?”
Ronnie looked at Mikey. He sighed, casting a glance at the floor for a second. He didn’t like the tension but it would have to do until they could figure out what was going on. “Thanks,” he mentioned, looking up at the pink box of donuts.
He didn’t bother closing the door, but the screen eased back into place.
“So, what’s up?” He hated himself for his hesitation, normally the idea of being brought something tasty would’ve been a bit more well received.
There were a few choice things Mikey wanted to say, but he could practically feel how sharp they’d come out, and Ronnie was already looking miserable enough as it was. This entire mess with Noah had Ronnie scared out of his mind, and feeling unsafe, and Mikey knew his boyfriend wanted to give Ro a chance even though she’d come into his place of work on the arm of a man who was the source of all that worry.
He raised an eyebrow, and waited for her to speak.
“I was in the neighborhood?” Ro said, trying to lighten the mood. She set the donut box down on the counter and opened the lid. If she could, she would have liked to give Mikey a couple playful taps on the arm to try and get him to crack a smile. But it was not.
“I wanted to see if you were okay after we came into the diner.”
“Actually,” Ronnie sighed, shaking his head. “I wasn’t. Honestly, Noah scares the shit out of me, and seeing him there really freaked me out. He knows where I work, he knows where I live.” Ronnie was doing his best to keep the weight out of his voice but he’d paled a bit upon speaking.
“I don’t know what he’s told you, Ro, or whatever. But…” He couldn’t find the words he wanted, and he struggled with it.
Mikey crossed the room to Ronnie, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and kissing his temple. “He’s bad news,” he said to Ro. “Ronnie’s dad got caught up in some gambling debt, the people he owed money to sent Noah to threaten to kill him. Ronnie paid the debt,” Mikey added, “he paid off the contract, and Noah…” his frown deepened. “Noah won’t back off. Came up to Ronnie at the grocery after he’d settled his debt and kept repeating his address over and over, and now this. He’s not supposed to be in Searchlight,” he added, flatly. “He’s pissed off enough people here. We thought that’d keep Ronnie safe, or at least safer. But then he comes into Ronnie’s place of work, with you of all people, and asks for a sharp fucking knife to go with his sundae.”
He took a deep breath and let it out. “So no,” he said, “no it’s not okay. I know you’re friends with him. I don’t…” he looked up at the ceiling.
Ro wasn’t sure how much of Mikey’s ire was directed at her, versus Noah. “I have a few things to say. Starting with I think you guys might feel better to know why we were there. This is not a defense of Noah, just something it might help to know. Noah didn’t suggest we come down here. That was me.” She took a breath. “We were high. Him more than me. Needed something to eat so I got the Uber and I set the destination. Noah fell asleep in the car. He didn’t even know where we were until we got there. He didn’t set out to go there to mess with Ronnie. And the knife thing? We were high,” she repeated. “He was pretty out of it. He’d just forgot the word for whip cream and he said something to me in Russian or something without even noticing. I think maybe he mixed up words and didn’t mean to say knife as a threat.”
Now to start the harder part. Nothing else for it but to begin. “Noah talked to me the other day. He said he had a deal, that he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt Ronnie.”
Ronnie stayed quiet as Mikey laid out the story. And then he listened to Ro, staring out through the screen door for most of it. When she finished, he felt a bit confused. “Wait, a deal?” The pieces began to move themselves together the way the pieces scattered to places on the Jumanji board in the movie. “What do you mean, he had a deal?”
That was making more sense now that it was a factor in all of this.
“And you don’t ask someone for a sharper knife and then suddenly realize you have a sundae sitting in front of you. I’ve been high plenty of times when I was younger, that’s like...another level.” But then who was he to know what Noah had been up to.
Mikey gave Ronnie a small squeeze.
He took a deep breath and let it out. “I think he meant the deal with Rhiannon,” he said quietly to Ronnie. “The one where he’s supposed to steer clear. I’ll let her know he didn’t know about coming into town,” he added to Ro, his frown cutting into the side of his face. “You can tell him as much.”
“I can’t actually,” Ro said quickly. “We’re not going to be speaking again.”
He didn’t realize there had been a deal, but he wasn’t going to argue or try to understand the tactics. It didn’t matter. What Ro said surprised him, while also setting firm in his earlier belief about her character.
“Why not?” He felt as if it was a fair question. This situation may have been heavy but he wasn’t sure it was a dealbreaker for a friendship.
Ro screwed her face up. She promised Noah she wouldn’t go to the police and telling Ronnie and Mikey what he’d confessed felt like accomplishing the same thing. The two of them didn’t need to know. It wouldn’t help how Ronnie felt and if they went to the police, Noah might change his mind about leaving Ronnie alone or would come after her for her indiscretion. “Turns out he’s not really a good guy.”
“No shit,” Mikey muttered, before taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Sorry. It’s been a rough month and change,” he said, tightly. “You okay? He hurt you?” She didn’t smell hurt, but then again, he knew she wasn’t human, so maybe he didn’t know what to smell.
They all knew that already, but he felt better with Ro’s statement. “Yeah. He’s pretty awful. I tried being nice to him, you know? He needed help with ingredients once, that time at the store, had a list or something. But I guess it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters.” He wasn’t looking to press Ro for information, he knew better than to ask a lot of questions.
“Sorry for dragging you into all of this, Ro. It’s been crazy, like Mikey has said, with all of this and Noah.” Maybe it would start getting better.
“I’m fine,” Ro said, voice neutral. “Noah has no reason to hurt me.” She’d been worried. Ro had been in some situations with some men who got violent when she tried to walk away. In this case, Noah’s lack of emotion had been a boon. As long as she wasn’t a threat to him, Noah wouldn’t come looking to light a fire in her direction.
“He doesn’t have reason to fuck with Ronnie,” Mikey replied, his voice a little more even. “Debt’s been paid. Doesn’t seem to make a difference.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Here’s hoping he decides it’s not worth his while. Least he doesn’t seem to be out for blood, if we can take anything he says at face value. Anyways. Good you aren’t hurt. And…” he frowned, his shoulder jerking up again. “Not your job to defend his shit.”
He’d still have a ways to go before he’d trust Ro’s judgement, mind -- she was drawn to that, after all, and the image of her looking over at the man who’d put Ronnie through so much while smiling and laughing wasn’t going out of his head any time soon -- but she wasn’t Noah.
Ronnie’s head was starting to hurt. Even now Noah was still having an effect on them, as if they all bore barbs of poison, and he didn’t like it. Negativity wasn’t his jam at all.
Slowly he pulled from Mikey and approached Ro, reaching out for her. He set his hand on one of hers, “Hey. This’ll all get sorted out. I think we needed to hear your side of things.”
This wasn’t a surprising sharp shock of an accidental touch but deliberate contact. It burned. When Ronnie didn’t move his hand away, Ro jerked her hand back, taking a step or two from him to put some distance between them. “Don’t touch me,” she said sharply.
Mikey stepped up to take Ronnie’s hand, more to give him something to hold than anything. “Sorry,” he said, holding up his free hand in a placating gesture. “He forgot the whole… not touching thing. Also, I sort of thought it might’ve just applied to me?” The corner of his mouth twisted up into a small half-smile. “Guess I was off about that. Sorry,” he repeated. “You okay?”
That sharpness in her tone made him frown. “I forgot, fuck I’m an idiot. I’m sorry, Ro.” Ronnie sighed heavily. His shoulders sagged. Squeezing Mikey’s fingers he did his best not to just flail there on the spot. Whatever it was preventing them from making contact didn’t matter, his concern was her.
Ro took a few deep breaths and shook out her hand. “You didn’t - you don’t - “ How could she explain that she wasn’t touch adverse but this was a reaction? “How much do you know about Derek?”
Mikey frowned. “I mean, he doesn’t have a touch thing, does he?” He asked Ronnie. “It’s okay,” he added to Ro. “I mean, I figured it was just part of your deal.” He gave Ronnie’s fingers a squeeze. “Sorta figured last time around that it was kind of like a fellow non-human detector or kryptonite thing, which, cool, but I don’t guess I got that part right, which, typical. Anyways.”
At her question, Ronnie blinked. “Derek and I have been friends for over a decade - he’s…” he began, looking at her. Did she know? His guy told him yes, that she knew. “..he’s a vampire. Like a real one. Or whatever. You know.” A real one? Was there a fake one? He figured she would get the point. Did that have anything to do with not being able to touch her?
"Well, why didn't you say you weren't human?" Ro exclaimed. "We need name tags, I swear. I'm a lust etheric. That's why I can't touch either of you. You two pretty boys are in love and that shit burns. So no touchy with Ro. Hands off."
“Huh,” Mikey replied, looking over to Ronnie. “So, like… you can… huh.”
He paused for a bit before ducking his head, and hiding a small grin.
He shrugged. “And it’s, you know. Habit. Keeping that sort of stuff on the down-low. Anyways. Now we know, we’ll keep our mitts to ourselves.” He paused. “Did he… he said, straight up, he wasn’t going to hurt Ronnie?” He asked. “Noah, I mean.”
That made a whole heck of a lot more sense when she explained it. “Oh, yeah. Dang. Sorry, I wish I would’ve known earlier,” he laughed a bit. “I am a human though. Like, just regular...plain, boring. You know.” And the idea that she knew they were in love had him grinning like a fool. Heck yeah he was and there wasn’t any denying it, burning people or not.
Of course the conversation circled back. “Yeah, um, what he said.”
Ro nodded and then answered with an empathetic "Yes. He said he decided not to hurt him. That he could and he wouldn't feel bad about it but he wasn’t going to. Noah...doesn't really do feelings," she added as explanation for something kind of awful.
Ro paused and then without thinking it through said, "If you're worried about it, I think I have a way to make sure it's never a problem ever again."
Mikey looked over to Ro, his mouth tight with concern. “He decided not to,” he replied. “Not because the debt was paid, but just… because he didn’t want to. Even though he could. Which means he could… just… decide to change his mind the other way, couldn’t he? Without any sort of remorse? The deal is Noah stays out of Searchlight, but it doesn’t keep Ronnie safe when he’s in Vegas, and it doesn’t…” he exhaled, his chest feeling tight. “We’ve been terrified on and off for weeks,” he said, looking up at the ceiling, doing his best to keep his voice steady. “Looked into getting Ronnie a gun, we stayed at a friend’s house for a while because we were afraid he’d come here, and for a while now, Ronnie’s been checking in wherever he goes so I could get there fast, but I can’t… I can’t be there all the time.”
He scrubbed his eye roughly with a fist, shrugging a shoulder. “Yeah, I worry,” he said, quietly. “A lot. I know Ronnie does too. We thought it’d been sorted, and when he showed up…” he shrugged again a little jerkily. “And that wasn’t…” he took another deep breath and let it out, his voice thick. “I know he didn’t intend to go there, but even then, he couldn’t help fucking with Ronnie, and I don’t know. I don’t. I don’t trust he’ll keep to himself. I guess knowing he didn’t choose to show up, and doesn’t intend to hurt Ronnie, at least for now, helps...” he looked over at Ronnie.
“I just hate you not feeling safe, baby,” he said, his voice low, giving Ronnie’s hand a squeeze. “I hate not being able to keep you as safe as you need,” he added.
That decision made Ronnie’s stomach lift and drop at the same time. What would it take to flip that switch? Probably something small, he would guess, something that Ronnie probably wouldn’t even realize could trigger until it was too late. He didn’t want to think about it, and shuddered visibly at the thought. Mikey had already echoed the words resonating through his mind.
“I have a gun,” he offered, quietly. Celeste had been helping him learn to shoot it, but he didn’t carry it outside the house. While the idea sounded good, he didn’t have the permit and he didn’t want to get into trouble.
For a moment he glanced up at Mikey, the squeeze of his fingers helped, and then Ronnie looked at Ro. “What do you mean?” That had been a vague comment, her words about being able to make sure Noah wasn’t a problem anymore. It also sounded dangerous. Did she have a plan to hurt Noah? If that was the case, he wasn’t sure he wanted that. Even with everything that happened, Noah was a human and hurting him just seemed wrong.
"Nobody's shooting anybody, don't go crazy," Ro said quickly. She heard the fear in their voices and the way Mikey seemed to want to want to protect Ronnie. The boys couldn't stop touching each other. How strange to want that. For a second Noah's voice floated through her head. You're a parasite. You used me. She pulled out a stool from the counter and sat heavily down in it. The box of donuts was still open. Ro selected one decorated like a unicorn.
"I mean permanent A magical solution. I'm owed a wish."
Mikey’s eyebrows shot up as he looked over at Ro. “You…” he looked between Ro and Mikey. “You’d… I mean, that’s… you…” he swallowed. “That’s a lot, Ro,” he said quietly. “That’s a lot to give away. You don’t…” he paused, chewing on his lip. “You don’t owe us, you know,” he added.
A magical solution. “Yeah, I don’t wanna take that from you. Wow..” Ronnie didn’t know quite how to feel about the proposition. It was a kind thing to do, but didn’t magic come with some sort of cost or something? Or maybe he just heard that somewhere. “I mean, I appreciate that...like, really...but I don’t even know what that would mean or whatever.”
Ro bit the face off the unicorn before answering. "There's not a lot I want. I don't know what else to do with it." Ro wanted to be satisfied, to do or have or experience things that made her feel good. It wasn’t a feeling that translated well into tangible goods. Money she had. "You might as well get some use out of it."
Mikey wrapped his arm loosely around Ronnie, still processing. “So... is the wish for anything?” He asked. “Or is it specific, like it has to be a protection thing? And is that… is that what you had in mind? Like… a protection wish?” He frowned in thought. “I bet the wording’d have to be super careful,” he added.
Ronnie wasn’t sure how wishes worked; it was something he’d thought about during the course of his life - what he would’ve done with Genie from Aladdin, and the thoughts always circled around his Mama. He would’ve helped her, given her every single wish and never taken one for himself. That seemed the similar situation here. Mama wouldn’t have wanted that - she had turned down vampirism - but he would’ve tried anyway.
He leaned into Mikey’s hold, his arm lifting and looping around his boyfriend’s firm stature. “I think wishes can be for whatever the person doin’ the wishing wants it to be, but yeah, I think also it’d have to be specific, right? Like make some rules or something?” A protection wish. Wait until Derek heard about this one.
"There are some wishes not allowed but other than that, I can wish whatever I want. I haven't tried yet so I don't really know how it works." Ro shrugged and then went back to her donut, tearing off pieces and popping them into her mouth. When it was gone and she'd licked the sugar off her fingers, she stood back up.
"You guys are," Ro waved a hand at the way the two of them were wrapped around each other. "I can go. Let me know what you want to do."
Mikey nodded. “We’ll… we’ll talk about it,” he said. “...Thanks,” he added, quietly. “For, you know. Not just offering the wish thing, but coming over to clear things up. I’m…” he paused. “I’m glad you aren’t gonna hang out with him any more,” he said. “I know it’s not easy.” A small smile twisted up in the corner of his mouth.
“Yeah,” Ronnie nodded. “Thanks. You’re a good friend, Ro. I really appreciate you and your kindness.” She could’ve chosen Noah, that friendship, and not mentioned the wish but she had and he was grateful. And that was something he and Mikey would need to discuss though Ronnie was more inclined right now to take it.
Ro wondered if they'd feel differently if they understood how alike she was with the man they feared. Probably. "Hey, no problem," she said breezily, making her way to the door. "Text me, huh? Big blonde, stay cool."
“See you around,” Mikey replied as she went out the door.
He leaned over to give Ronnie a kiss on the temple. “Hey,” he said, “you okay?”
Ronnie waved at Ro as she left. He sighed, brain hurting from everything they’d just spoken about. “Yeah, I think so. I feel better now than I did earlier.” And then he looked over at the donut box. “I want one of those, though.”
“You got it, gorgeous,” Mikey replied, giving Ronnie a squeeze before moving into the kitchen to get a plate. “You want coffee, or milk?” He added over his shoulder as he rooted around.
“I meant what I said,” he continued, “I’m glad she came by to sort it all out. Still don’t get why she was so tight with him in the first place,” he continued, with a slight frown, “but…” he shrugged.
“Oh, milk please.” While coffee sounded good, milk was better with donuts. Ronnie went to the box to root around, removing a donut in the shape of a poop. It was bright pink with googly eyes and he laughed.
“Me too,” Ronnie agreed. He didn’t like leaving stuff open. “How do you feel about her wish thing?” And then Ronnie shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe she didn’t know before. Can’t blame someone who doesn’t know.”
“Maybe,” Mikey replied, despite his skepticism. He reached for the fridge and got out the milk, pouring it into two glasses, and selected a donut for himself as well.
“And it’s… I mean, we’d have to talk to someone about wording? Like… Gabe, maybe? Make sure it’s not doing something we wouldn’t want…” he paused as he bit into the donut. “It’d make me feel better,” he added. “Not just about Noah, but any random zombiebison that come along, you know? This place can get crazy.”
He was part of the way through the donut by the time Mikey made it back with the milk. Pink icing was clinging to the hair of his beard and mustache. “Oh, does Gabe know magic or something?” Ronnie had no idea the guy did anything but hang out with a rat.
Then Ronnie nodded. “Cool. Yeah, let’s check it out and we can let Ro know with a decision.”
Mikey paused, and took the opportunity to polish off his donut, absently reaching for a second. “You…” he took a drink of milk. “You ever…” he looked over at Ronnie properly and laughed at the icing, leaning over to kiss him. “You got icing all over, dude,” he said.
After another pause to take a bite of the new donut, he started back up again. “You ever think about being a cougar?” He asked Ronnie. “Because this wish thing could make it so that might not be on the table, but if it’s not something you wanted, or you know, were thinking about doing any time soon, that’s fine,” he added, “it’s, it’d be fine if you never wanted to, I wasn’t... “ he paused. “I wasn’t even gonna, you know, bring it up, but… it’s something to keep in mind.” He frowned. “That came out wrong,” he added. “I don’t even know if that’s something you’d ever want, and I don’t need you to become one to be with you, but if it was something you wanted, a protection spell’d probably protect against that too? Anyways.”
Ronnie looked up at Mikey as he spoke, steering the conversation toward changing. He remembered years ago, the conversion that Derek had with Rose about this same thing. Of course he had thought about it earlier with Ro but right now he could see her face clearly, hear exactly what Derek had offered, and he recalled her answer. What would she think about him changing?
“I think about it a lot, actually,” Ronnie confessed. He set down the donut in favor of wiping off any stray icing or crumbs, glad for the kiss. The milk would be sipped from.
He’d lain there some nights with Mikey, mulling over what it would be like. “I mean, I’m not saying no, but I don’t want you feeling like you have to do that or that’s why I’m with you or anything. You know? And, while being a cougar sounds fucking badass, even just being able to protect myself somehow is good. Wish or no wish.”
Mikey leaned forward to kiss Ronnie again. “I love you for you,” he said. “You… you keep callin’ yourself a plain old human, but dude, you’re an awesome human, and I love you. I want you to feel safe, and we got a few choices, and whatever you choose, I’m gonna keep on loving you.”
He kissed Ronnie again. “I think it’s sort of cool that Ro could tell,” he added, lingering close, the taste of sugar on his lips from Ronnie’s donut. “That she could feel it. How much we love each other.”
That statement and the kiss that followed made him brighten visibly. “I love you too.” Mikey tasted like donuts, sugar, frosting. “I love you so much. And I’d be honored to be a cougar. Like, seriously.” He had no idea how that process even worked but if it brought him closer to Mikey while also keeping him safe, he wanted it. And, if they did it soon, they could use the wish to have further protection if they felt it was necessary.
“Me too. I didn’t know there was stuff like that, you know? Like powers and stuff. Makes me feel good.”
“Yeah,” Mikey replied, kissing Ronnie again slowly, sliding closer to wind his arms around Ronne. “...Yeah.”